Accra: In a childcare center nestled in the Yuzhong District of southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, sunlight streams through the windows, casting a warm glow over a playroom where six toddlers dash back and forth under their teacher’s watchful eyes. In an adjacent classroom, younger infants, with the gentle guidance of caregivers, flip through colorful picture books, their tiny fingers tracing the images. As China’s dual-income families grow and parenting philosophies evolve, an increasing number of parents are seeking professional childcare services to balance their busy lives.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the center offers full-day care and crafts personalized development plans tailored to each child’s age, documenting their growth every step of the way. Yang Huiyuan, assistant director of Qingtaoli Future Gallery, a local childcare center, emphasized the importance of refined early education, integrating language, movement, and fine-motor skills to foster holistic growth. “Many parents today juggle the demands of work and caregiving. Professional childcare allows them to focus on their careers while their children receive scientific and attentive care,” Yang added.
In recent years, China’s childcare service network has expanded rapidly. Data from the National Health Commission indicates that by the end of 2024, China had 5.8 million childcare slots nationwide, equivalent to about 4.08 slots per 1,000 people, marking a 2.3-fold increase compared with 2020. Further insights from iiMedia Research reveal that China’s childcare market reached 151.8 billion yuan (about 21.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 and is expected to reach 232.3 billion yuan by 2030, as both central and local governments strengthen policy and financial support.
At Wonderful Mother, another childcare center in Chongqing, dozens of toddlers engage in learning and play under the guidance of professional teachers. The center offers hourly, half-day, and full-day services to accommodate different family needs. “My granddaughter Wang Lingyi, who is three years old, has been here for three months,” said Granny Zhang, her grandmother. “Her parents are university teachers nearby and busy during the day. Here, she can get professional care and play with other children.”
Fu Qian, teaching supervisor at Wonderful Mother, noted that enrollment is trending younger, with the youngest child this year being just 40 days old. “New-generation parents prefer leaving childcare to professionals. They focus on nurturing their children’s concentration, independence, and social skills,” Fu said. Modern childcare centers have evolved to integrate early education, psychology, and health management, emphasizing developmental care.
Childcare services not only meet family needs but also fuel a booming childcare economy. Industry insiders estimate that caring for a child from 6 months to 3 years old costs 70,000 to 100,000 yuan, with China’s potential childcare market exceeding 1 trillion yuan. The industry also supports female employment and releases workforce potential. Jia Qianying, lead expert at the Municipal Skilled Masters Studio for Elderly and Nursing Care at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, highlighted that “high-quality childcare enables parents, especially mothers, to return to work without worry.”
Addressing workforce shortages, Chongqing Nursing Vocational College launched a childcare service and management major in 2021 to train interdisciplinary professionals in health, education, and management. Its first 100 graduates completed their studies last year. “Although more than 150,000 students nationwide are now enrolled in related programs, the talent gap still exceeds 2 million,” Jia said.
Li Li, head of Baby First, another Chongqing-based childcare provider, described the industry’s “conceptual awakening.” “A decade ago, parents asked if we could keep their children from falling. Now they ask if we can help develop focus. This shows growing awareness of childcare’s educational value,” Li said. Professional childcare, she added, fosters children’s independence and self-care skills while improving parent-child interactions.
Nearly half of Chinese parents now express a need for childcare services, with community-based and flexible-hour models being the most favored. An action plan on China’s childcare service quality improvement from 2025 to 2027 aims to create 660,000 new inclusive childcare slots and promote medical-educational integration, standardization, and talent development. Across China, the building of a childcare-friendly society is gaining momentum, with regions like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Jinan developing innovative models for childcare services.
“Childcare is an industry where social benefits outweigh economic ones,” Jia concluded. “As professional training, standards, and public awareness improve, childcare services are set to enter a new phase of growth in the next five to 10 years, becoming a key part of China’s effort to build a family-friendly society.”